A Calgary family is embracing changes to protect others after two young men were killed in a crash while out on a camping trip near Ghost Lake last year.

Nathan Wack, Jordan Fish and Logan Toews were camping in the Ghost Lake area west of Cochrane one year ago when they decided to go for a midnight drive to a nearby lookout point.

Toews was behind the wheel and lost control of the truck on Township Road 265B about 4 kilometres from Highway 40. Wack and Fish were riding in the back of the pickup when it crashed down a ravine and over a cliff and did not survive.

An investigation into the crash determined that the Toews had not been drinking that night and he was fined $388 for having passengers in the bed of the truck while it was moving.

On Sunday, family and friends gathered at the scene to share memories and remember the two young men who were killed.

Nathan Wack’s family says they are doing their best to support each other as they deal with the devastating loss.

“Some people have had troubles moving on from it, as you might image, and some people have been able to go further, sometimes it depends on the day or the hour or what you see or what you’re  touching in the house,’ said Tim Leshchyshyn, Wack’s father.

“Some days it is, some school days, some home days, some games I play it reminds me of him because I used to play with him a lot,” said his brother Brad.

Logan Toews also joined the gathering to honour his friends and offer support.

“They were out there yesterday as well. So, you know, they seem to be coping well,” said Leshchyshyn.

TransAlta leases the land where the crash happened from the province and has put up a concrete barrier at the request of the families to help prevent future crashes.

“TransAlta had a lot of good initiative and contacted us lots and were able to tell us what they were planning to do. They put up a temporary barrier that was so sturdy and complete that actually that’s the permanent barrier,” said Leshchyshyn. “TransAlta took care of the crash site area quite well.”

“It will save a lot of things from happening down that hill. It definitely will stop unless somebody purposely goes around the barrier, it’s going to stop if you didn’t see the barrier,” said Brad.

The families have also created a memorial near the scene and say they were mindful of where they placed it to ensure it was not a distraction for other drivers.

(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)